Serbia’s publishing industry is entering the 2026 autumn sales season amid a dispute over participation in the Belgrade International Book Fair, while company results point to a market that is growing in nominal terms but contracting after inflation.
- Publishing output remains high despite weaker real growth
- Integrated chains strengthen their position
- Textbooks provide a more stable revenue base
- Independent publishers remain important to the market
- Retail economics are squeezed by discounts and rising costs
- Social media is reshaping how readers discover books
- Audiobooks emerge as a separate digital segment
- Fair participation exposes the industry’s distribution divide
Laguna, Delfi, Kreativni Centar, Čarobna knjiga, Dereta, Kontrast and four other publishing and bookselling companies have said they will not participate in the 69th Belgrade International Book Fair, citing unfavourable commercial conditions and the removal of publisher representatives from the fair’s board. Vulkan, another major market player, has remained absent since 2020 and instead promotes its titles through its own stores. Applications for the 2026 event remain open until August 20.
The dispute comes as the fair itself faces weaker attendance. Visitor numbers fell from a record 203,350 in 2024 to 134,750 in 2025, a decline of almost 34 per cent, while the number of direct exhibitors decreased only modestly, from 424 to 416.
Publishing output remains high despite weaker real growth
Serbia’s publishing sector continues to produce a large number of titles. A total of 12,943 books and brochures were published in 2024, compared with 12,471 in 2023. Almost two-thirds of those publications originated in Belgrade, while 43.6 per cent belonged to linguistics, philology and literature. Books in Serbian accounted for 82.4 per cent of the total. In 2025, 1,661 businesses were registered for book publishing.
These figures demonstrate the scale of publishing activity but do not measure actual copies sold. Serbia does not have a comprehensive audited sell-through series comparable with those available in larger European markets. Company financial statements consequently provide one of the more useful indicators of market performance. The 359 businesses registered as specialist book retailers generated RSD8.19 billion in revenue in 2025, compared with approximately RSD7.8 billion in 2023. Aggregate profit, however, declined from RSD406.9 million to RSD308.4 million, leaving the sector with a net margin below 4 per cent. Consumer prices increased by 4.6 per cent in 2024 and another 3.8 per cent in 2025, meaning retail book revenue failed to keep pace with cumulative inflation.
Integrated chains strengthen their position
The retail market is increasingly shaped by vertically integrated businesses combining publishing, distribution and direct sales. Laguna operates across commercial and literary publishing, while its affiliated Delfi network provides nationwide retail distribution, e-commerce, reader clubs and promotional activities. Vulkan combines its publishing operations with its own bookstore network.
Delfi generated RSD1.89 billion in revenue in 2025, while Vulkan’s retail company reported RSD1.81 billion. Combined, the two businesses represented approximately 45 per cent of total revenue recorded by specialist book retailers. That comparison is only a proxy for market position because both chains sell products beyond books, including gifts, stationery, games and other merchandise. The largest regional challenger in the available retail ranking was Niš-based Hijeroglif, which reported revenue of RSD898 million.
Vertical integration provides publishers with direct access to shelves, websites, customer data and promotional calendars. This can give internally distributed titles greater exposure and allow companies to retain more of the economics generated between publication and final sale.
Textbooks provide a more stable revenue base
The Serbian publishing market is divided between discretionary general publishing and education-related sales. Schoolbooks benefit from recurring annual demand, with purchasing concentrated around the start of the school year. Klett, part of the German education group and operating in Serbia alongside the Novi Logos and Freska imprints, reported RSD2.47 billion in revenue in 2025.
That exceeded the revenue reported by Vulkan publishing, at RSD1.70 billion, and Laguna, at RSD1.22 billion. Seven of the ten highest-revenue publishers in a 2024 ranking focused primarily on textbooks, required reading or children’s books. Data Status, Bigz Školstvo, Eduka and the state-owned Zavod za udžbenike are among the other major schoolbook publishers.
Children’s publishing has also developed established specialist businesses, including Kreativni Centar, Pčelica and Publik Praktikum. In general trade publishing, an industry estimate places Laguna and Vulkan together at 50–55 per cent of fiction sales. Their scale is reinforced by control over retail outlets, online channels, customer relationships and promotional activity.
Independent publishers remain important to the market
The market also includes a substantial independent publishing segment. Booka and Geopoetika have established positions in contemporary and translated literature, while Clio and Arhipelag focus on serious non-fiction and literary publishing. Dereta and Kontrast operate across classics and commercial titles, while Čarobna knjiga and Darkwood serve comics, fantasy and collector-oriented segments.
Distribution provides another competitive layer. Makart says it works with approximately 300 sales outlets across Serbia. These companies have an influence on literary supply that is not necessarily reflected in their financial scale. Their exposure to changes in retail access is greater when shelf space, promotional opportunities and public-library purchasing become less predictable.
Retail economics are squeezed by discounts and rising costs
Book pricing places additional pressure on publishers and retailers. A typical Serbian title sells for approximately RSD1,200–RSD1,500, or around €10, while retailer and distributor discounts can exceed 50 per cent. At the same time, paper, printing, rent, wages and distribution costs have increased. Publishers have responded through shorter print runs, quicker inventory turnover and frequent promotions. Bookstores, meanwhile, have broadened their merchandise mix.
The online storefronts of both major chains prominently feature products such as toys, drinkware, figurines, stationery and gifts alongside books. Diversification provides retailers with additional sources of gross profit, but it also means publishers compete for limited retail space with non-book products.
Social media is reshaping how readers discover books
Demand has not simply shifted away from physical books. Digital platforms increasingly influence which printed titles consumers purchase. BookTok and Bookstagram have helped drive interest in romance, fantasy and translated young-adult books. Publishers report that popular psychology is the leading demand category, followed by crime and romance.
Younger consumers can discover titles through social media before purchasing physical editions. Special editions, manga and books positioned as gifts have benefited from this pattern. Digital reading itself remains relatively limited, constrained by the size of the Serbian-language catalogue, payment practices and piracy.
Audiobooks emerge as a separate digital segment
Audio is developing as a more significant digital format. Knjigapriča, which began commercial sales in 2022, describes itself as the Balkans’ largest audiobook platform, with its mobile listing advertising more than 300 titles. Yettel bundles Bookmate with its telecommunications services, while specialist audiobook producers are also targeting Serbian-speaking audiences abroad.
The developing audio market therefore adds consumption occasions for commuters, older listeners, children and members of the diaspora without replacing physical books as the dominant format.
Fair participation exposes the industry’s distribution divide
The dispute over the Belgrade Book Fair reflects the different positions of Serbia’s publishing businesses. Large integrated groups have nationwide retail networks and websites through which they can reproduce some of the promotional and commercial functions of a major publishing event. Smaller and independent publishers have fewer alternatives for generating concentrated foot traffic, discovery and direct consumer exposure. The 2026 fair’s participation list remains unsettled, with applications accepted until August 20. The disagreement over commercial conditions and representation therefore comes at a time when Serbia’s book market is already dealing with weaker real revenue growth, intense discounting, rising operating costs and a retail structure increasingly shaped by vertically integrated chains.
